After
the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake,
for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb,
rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning,
and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him
that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women,
“Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus,
who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his
disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of
you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
… Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain
where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped
him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age.”
In the Narthex there are two windows, one on each side of the door:
The one
on the left has the United Methodist symbol in it. It represents the
spiritual union of the two churches, the Methodist and the Evangelical
United Brethren. The total flame suggests the presence of God’s
spirit in the United Church. The two flames represent the two churches,
born of the spirit, now one. At the very center is the cross.
The window
on the right has the signs for Alpha and Omega, the first and last
letters of the Greek alphabet.
Revelations
1:8
“I
am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who
is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
In the
choir loft we have four windows with music symbols: two with notes,
a harp, and a horn. These are all symbols of praise.
